ACGL FORMS HANDBOOK
Version 1 Dated: 15.04.2015
Page 1 of 32 Table of contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... 2
INTRODUCTION...... 4
WHY USE ELECTRONIC FORMS? ...... 5
HOW ARE FORMS OBTAINED? ...... 6
HOW TO REGISTER ...... 6
HOW TO LOG INTO THE WEBSITE ...... 9
HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF FORMS ...... 11
USAGE OF ELECTRONIC FORMS ...... 14
HOW TO SET THE ADOBE ACROBAT READER LANGUAGE TO ENGLISH ...... 14
HOW TO CREATE A PDF FILE FROM YOUR PICTURE ...... 16
HOW TO DIGITALLY SIGN A DOCUMENT ...... 16
BEHAVIOUR OF OTHER BROWSERS ...... 16
BEHAVIOR OF GOOGLE CHROME BROWSER ...... 18
BEHAVIOR OF FIREFOX (MOZILLA) BROWSER ...... 19
BEHAVIOR OF SAFARI BROWSER ...... 23
EXTRACT FORM DATA TO A SINGLE .CSV FILE...... 24
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LODGE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ...... 26
RECOMMENDATION FOR HARDWARE ...... 27
Page 2 of 32 1) Computer: ...... 27
2) External M-Disc Recorder: ...... 27
3) Laser Printer: ...... 27
4) Multifunctional scanner and duplex printer ...... 28
5) External Disk for data backup ...... 28
6) Document Scanner...... 28
RECOMMENDATION FOR SOFTWARE ...... 28
1) Office Software ...... 28
2) Backup Software ...... 29
3) E-Mail Software ...... 29
4) PC Protection Software ...... 29
TIPS FOR PC MAINTENANCE ...... 30
1) Keep Windows Updated with the Latest Patches ...... 30
2) Keep Your Spyware and AntiVirus Programs Updated ...... 30
3) Keep Your Applications and Utilities Patched ...... 30
4) Remove Unused Applications and Other Junk ...... 31
5) Pay Attention to the Software You Install ...... 31
6) Create a System Restore Point...... 31
7) Defragment and Check Your Hard Drive for Errors Regularly ...... 32
Page 3 of 32 Introduction
ACGL Forms are an effort to help automate the administration of the individual Lodges of the American Canadian Grand Lodge as well as that of the ACGL Grand Lodge. The electronic forms are designed and created with Adobe Acrobat XI. They can be filled with the cost free Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader and emailed to the Grand Secretary thus saving postage costs. The cost free Foxit Reader has two advantages over the Free Adobe Reader.
a) The Foxit Reader permits the insertion of Picture files such as .JPG files which are available from as standard digital camera. The Adobe reader can only insert Picture files in PDF Format. See: How to Create a PDF Picture File. b) The Foxit reader can extract form data from the filled up forms. The Adobe reader cannot do this.
Foxit Reader is free, but be sure to decline any extra toolbars or the like it tries to sneak in during installation. The Foxit Reader however cannot properly digitally sign PDF documents.
It recommended that both readers be installed on the same computer. The Adobe Reader should be used where digital signatures are necessary.
Certain forms which are to be sent to foreign Grand Lodges are valid only in paper form and have to be signed and sealed with the Impress Seal of the Lodge before being mailed.
All forms if filled contain information in the data fields. These data fields can be extracted regardless if the forms are to be filled and emailed or filled, printed signed sealed and mailed.
Page 4 of 32 Why use Electronic Forms?
1) Readability: The form fields can be filled legibly on a computer. 2) Avoid mistakes in calculation: If paper forms are used, the user has to calculate the fields in the forms and then write them down in the fields on paper. There is no guarantee that the fields are correctly filled. Calculated form fields are automatically and correctly filled and thus mistakes avoided. 3) Save Printing costs for the Grand Lodge: The expense of printing the existing paper forms and mailing them to the different Lodges of the ACGL is quite prohibitive. Postage and printing costs have skyrocketed in the last few years and the usage to electronic forms save the Grand Lodge a considerable sum of money. 4) Save Postage time and expense for all Lodges: If paper forms are used, the Secretary of each Lodge has to send the form by snail mail to the Grand Secretary. The average net cost of sending a paper form to the Grand Secretary lies by around € 2, 40 (Postage and envelope costs for sending the original to the Grand Secretary and a copy to the DDGM). What is often overlooked is the time of the Secretary. He has to fill the paper form by a typewriter or write it as legibly as possible, make 3 copies, file one copy for the Lodge and go over to the mailbox or post office at the earliest opportunity and mail the GS and DDGM copies. Postage costs are constantly increasing. Most of the forms sent by the secretary to the Grand Lodge are now available as electronic forms and can be electronically filled and sent by email, thus saving postage expenses as well as time. 5) Save space through digital storage: Lodge Secretaries have to retain data about Lodge members. The filled up forms are a method to systematically save data about members in a digital form. (e.g. the Masonic Data Form gives all relevant data pertaining to a member and must be submitted if required along with the Monthly Data Report of the Lodge.) 6) Data from filled up forms can be extracted: The forms which are filled up contain data which can be extracted using programs such as Adobe Acrobat Pro or Foxit Reader. Adobe Acrobat Professional is a program which allows you to create your own forms. (Cost: Approx. $500, -) https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/pricing/pricing-compare-plans.html It allows you to extract data from multiple forms and combine them into a single .csv file which can be imported into an excel spreadsheet. The Foxit reader is a cost free program which can be downloaded at: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader . The Foxit Reader can be used to fill the forms made available by the Grand Lodge as well as extract data from the filled up forms in the same way as that of the Adobe Acrobat Professional.
Page 5 of 32 How are Forms obtained?
All forms are available as downloads from the ACGL “Members Only” Website. http://mem.acgl.eu .
There are two types of forms available:
1) Forms which can be filled by a lodge member. (e.g.: Petition for the 3 degrees of Masonry, petition for affiliation, Registration forms for the Annual or Semi-Annual communications.)
2) Forms which are to filled by the Secretaries of Lodges only which are necessary for communication with the Grand Lodge or other Grand Lodges.
The forms which are for lodge members are available at the website menu ACGL Forms.
Forms meant for secretaries are available at the website under the menu “Secretaries Only”. This menu can be seen only if the registered member of the website is a secretary or DDGM and the ACGL webmaster is informed of the same.
Every Lodge Secretary and DDGM should register himself at the above website as soon as possible in order to obtain access to the ACGL Forms.
How to Register
1) Browse to https://mem.acgl.eu
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2) Create an account
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Page 8 of 32 How to log into the website
Please remember you are logging on to a protected website. (https://mem.acgl.eu). As you see https, the session between the web server and the browser on the device you are using is encrypted. You can easily identify web servers that have https configured by looking at the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the web address bar of your browser.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https) is a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with the Secure Socket Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. TLS is an authentication and security protocol widely implemented in browsers and Web servers. SSL works by using a public key to encrypt data transferred over the SSL connection. Most Web browsers support SSL. It allows you to communicate securely with the web server.
The security certificate issued by the ACGL domain is a private certificate and is hence mistrusted by all browsers. Therefore you will get the following response if you are using the Internet Explorer as a browser.
Page 9 of 32 After Clicking on the Link the website finally grants access.
Page 10 of 32 How to download the PDF forms
Again please remember you are now logged on to a protected website. (https://mem.acgl.eu). The down loads are also mistrusted by your browser.
Forms for all Members:
Secretaries, DDGMs and Elected Grand Line Officers alone can see and access the “Secretaries Only” page.
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Click on the PDF Form icon to download the form.
The PDF Form opens in the Browser. Please save it to disk using the save to disk Icon. The file can be then renamed as required.
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Page 13 of 32 Usage of Electronic Forms
Please note that forms should always be saved to disk under a unique name in order to prevent overwriting existing filled forms or causing confusion at a later stage. It is recommended to save the form file with a name which refers to the brother involved or/and the date or Lodge involved. (e.g. MDF_831_Max_Mustermann.pdf denotes a Masonic Data Form sent by Lodge No. 831 about Brother Max Mustermann.)
Forms are basically of two types:
1) Forms which are to be electronically filled printed and then the printed paper signed and sealed. These forms are mainly meant for communication with other Grand Lodges. Certain Grand Lodges have not yet switched over to the digital world, but still insist on paper. Therefore forms such as the Certificate of Good Standing and the Demit Form have to be submitted in paper form. These forms must have the impress seal of the Lodge to prove validity. These forms are normally submitted by the secretary via snail mail. The secretary should save the filled form to disk for data extraction and digital archiving. 2) Forms which are to be filled and digitally signed. Most of the forms can be filled and digitally signed and sent by the secretary or brother via email. Forms such as the Masonic Data Form, Monthly report, affiliation petition, etc. are examples. The secretary should save such filled forms for archiving and digital data extraction.
Please note: The signature must be the LAST Entry on the form. In case further entries have to be made do not lock the form on signing. The digital seal should be used before the digital signature is used if the form is to be locked. Tips for Secretaries: a) If you are filling forms such as the monthly report, you can for example copy the filled up February Monthly report and rename the copy March and then modify the required fields. b) A digital seal is really not necessary if you are using a digital signature for forms which are only for the Grand Secretary.
How to set the Adobe Acrobat Reader Language to English
Certain forms such as the Certificate of Good Standing or Demit Certificate which Secretaries use, require date entries which give the month name in the English Language in the form. The electronic form functions therefore properly only if the language of the Acrobat Reader is set to English.
Page 14 of 32 The secretary must set the Language of the Acrobat Reader to English by following the instructions: If your Acrobat Reader is set to German go to the menu: Bearbeiten ----> Voreinstellungen
After that, terminate Acrobat Reader and start it once more. A Dialog Box will be displayed.
You now find that all the menues are set to English now.
Page 15 of 32 How to create a PDF file from your picture
It is possible to insert a digital picture in the Petition form and Affiliation form. The Foxit Reader allows the insertion of picture files such as .JPG which is available from a digital camera. Unfortunately it is not possible to insert a .JPG Picture file if you use the Adobe Reader. You have to generate a PDF File from the .JPG File. The conversion of JPG files ( digital Photo) into a PDF file which can be read in the petition can be done by various methods. A few of the various methods are given below: 1. Use a Microsoft program such as Microsoft Word. Insert the photo into a single Office page so that the photo fills the page. Save the page as a pdf. 2. Use an Open Office program such as OpenOffice.org Writer. Insert the photo into a single Office page so that the photo fills the page. Export the page as a pdf. 3. Use a free Web service for converting the image file to pdf. There are many web services for free conversion available on the web. A few of them are: http://www.convert-jpg-to-pdf.net . Please follow the instructions in the video on the web page. You only have to upload only one picture and not many as described. The conversion is quick. http://www.freepdfconvert.com . The conversion takes place very quickly and is very easy. http://online2pdf.com/convert-jpg2pdf . The conversion takes place very quickly and is very easy. 4. Use free Software for converting the image file to pdf. There are many freeware programs available for download on the web for such conversions. A few of them are: http://jpgtopdfconverter.googlecode.com/files/jpegtopdf%20v1.0.zip A simple no frills converter for JPEG Pictures. Just unzip the download and the program is available without any installation. The conversion is very fast. http://www.pdflite.com http://download.pdfforge.org/download/pdfcreator/PDFCreator-stable
How to digitally sign a Document
Instructions to digitally sign a pdf form are available as videos or as webpages. If you use Adobe Reader see: 1) http://tv.adobe.com/watch/acrobat-x/how-to-digitally-sign-a-document-with-adobe- reader 2) http://helpx.adobe.com/reader/using/sign-pdfs.html The cost free Foxit reader presently does not provide a secure Digital signature.
Behaviour of other Browsers
Page 16 of 32 If you use other Browsers the behavior is practically the same. All browsers mistrust https websites and as the security certificate of https://mem.acgl.eu is a private certificate it is not known by most of the available browsers.
Page 17 of 32 Behavior of Google Chrome Browser
On logging on to https://mem.acgl.eu Google Chrome gives the warning message that somebody is trying to steal your information which may pertain to credit card information, news or passwords.
You will get another screen response.
Page 18 of 32 Only then you will be able to access the website. You will meet with the same warnings if you download files. Unfortunately Chrome has a bug which blocks the display of embedded content in certain pages of the member’s website. Pages such ACGL Publications and the picture albums are not displayed. Therefore the usage of the Internet Explorer is recommended.
Behavior of Firefox (Mozilla) Browser
The Firefox Browser is more suited to browse https sites since selected Websites can be defined as exceptions and once defined, these Websites can be revisited without the warnings.
Firefox can be downloaded from: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/ .
1) Log on to the website.
2) You will get the following response from the Firefox browser when you logon for the first time.
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Continue:
You get a popup box which asks for the exception. Please enter the URL: https://mem.acgl.eu/index.php . See the screen shot below.
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After the information is resent you are then logged in as per the screen shot below.
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Firefox will then no longer give any warnings when logging in or downloading files.
Unfortunately Firefox has a bug which blocks the display of embedded content in certain pages of the member’s website. Pages such ACGL Publications and the picture albums are not displayed.
Therefore the usage of the Internet Explorer is recommended.
Page 22 of 32 Behavior of Safari Browser
The Safari Browser is more suited to browse the Members Website. When you logon the site, you get the warning that Safari cannot identify the website.
After you carry on, you will probably be surprised to see that you are still not logged in.
You have to login once more. Only then the logged in screen will be shown. Safari displays embedded Content in same fashion as the Microsoft Internet Explorer and can be used as an alternative browser.
Page 23 of 32 Extract Form Data to a single .csv file
Data from multiple forms can be extracted by Adobe Acrobat Professional/Standard or the cost free Foxit Reader. It must be kept in mind that the forms selected for extraction must have the same form design. The process of extracting the data with the Foxit Reader is given below: 1) First start the Foxit Reader and go to the Forms Tab.
2) Start the menu combine forms to a sheet.
Page 24 of 32 3) Browse to the folder where the pdf files are stored.
4) Incase you wish to read in the .csv file with a program such as LibreOffice you get the fields in the form below:
Page 25 of 32 Recommendations for Lodge Hardware and Software
Please note that the recommendations are based on current knowledge (early 2015). These recommendations will have to be revised periodically at least once a year as the Hardware and software industry is a very fast changing field.
Presently all Lodges need computer Hardware and Software for carrying out their day to day work. In many cases the secretary uses his personal computer for Lodge work. This is not recommended since personal correspondence and Lodge correspondence may get mixed up. It would be more efficient if the Secretary who is the work horse of the Lodge does Lodge work on Lodge hardware using Lodge Software. In case a change of secretaries take place, the hardware along with the installed software can be handed over to the next secretary. The hardware required by a lodge can vary as per the tasks required as well as the number of members of the Lodge. We have certain lodges with 8 to 20 members and certain lodges with over a few hundred members. Many of the older lodges have a large number of files pertaining to members (past and present). They often have to check their records when they receive requests for reinstatement or requests for information. If such lodges rely only on their paper filing cabinets, the secretary has an enormous amount of work. The secretary also has to find place for the filing cabinets in his house so that he can easily reference them. If he keeps the filing cabinets in the Lodge hall, he has to travel to the lodge hall in order to refer to them. It would make much more sense to scan the records with a document scanner and save the records as Adobe PDF/A files after the files have been converted to Character recognized PDF files. Most Document scanners are sold with Adobe Acrobat Standard Software as a bundle so that the scanned files may be converted to readable Adobe PDF Files. These files may be then stored in PDF/A Format which is the Archiving Format recognized by the DIN/ISO Standard Institutions. It will be thus possible to get rid of the old file cabinets, by scanning all paper to disk.
The basic hardware needed by the Lodge is a computer. It must be kept in mind that all data on the Lodge computer must be backed up, preferably to a separate external Disk. The Lodge data should be periodically archived to a CDROM or DVD. DVDs have to be kept in a dark place to avoid damage to the DVD dye used for storing information. DVDs or CDROMs use organic dyes which are expected to retain data for 3-7 years. (Cost /Disk approx. € 0, 60). It would be much more effective if the data is stored on an M-Disc DVD. One M-Disc DVD costs around € 4, - but is able to retain data for approximately 1000 Years.(As per the Department of Defense USA). Please note that an M-Disc can be written only once and then read many times. It must be kept in mind that the M-Disc can be written only by certain DVD recorders and read by all DVD Readers. The DVD format is published as an open source document and this guarantees that DVD Readers will be available for an unlimited time period. The list of M-Disc DVD recorders is obtained from: http://www.mdisc.com/m-ready/ .
Page 26 of 32 Recommendation for Hardware
1) Computer: The computer selected should be a laptop with at least a 15, 4 inch screen. The operating system should be Windows 7 and upwards. Why Windows? 90 % of all PCs are Windows computers. Other operating systems do not support the huge number of Software Programs which are on the Market or are available as cost free Open Source programs. Why a laptop? Laptops are portable and less cumbersome. A larger screen (17”) helps the secretary work more efficiently without hampering the mobility of the computer. RAM: If a 32 bit Windows system is used the RAM should be 4 GB. It is advisable to have 8GB RAM if the operating system is a 64 Bit system. The Laptop should have an internal Disk with at least 500 GB capacity in order to handle the data required. A card reader would be nice to have in order to read in data from a digital camera. It is recommended that the computer be bought from firms which are noted for reliability such as HP, DELL or Lenovo. (Price approx. €300, - to € 400, -). 2) External M-Disc Recorder: In case the computer does not have an M-Disc compatible DVD recorder, it would be advisable to buy an external recorder such as the LG GP50NB40 (Costs approx. € 33, -) for burning M-Disc DVDs.
3) Laser Printer: A laser Printer is recommended since an ink jet printer is much more expensive in the long run because of the inkjet cartridges. Laser printers give prints which are long lasting and do not fade or run as in the case of inkjet printers. The usage of a duplex laser printer which prints on both sides of the paper would save paper as well as facilitate the printing of forms which need printing on both sides of the paper. In case a color laser printer is used, the lodge can use it to prepare newsletters in color to mail to the brothers who do not have email. The elderly brothers abroad will definitely appreciate such newsletters. Please note that the purchase of used laser printers is not recommended since the laser drums get used up and have to be replaced. The guarantee of the used printer may have lapsed and in case the printer is damaged it will not be economical in the long run. Examples of Black and white Duplex Laser Printers: (Information from Amazon.de) a) Kyocera ECOSYS FS-1061DN ( approx. € 130, -) b) Brother HL-L2365DW ( approx. €140, -) c) Samsung Xpress M265D/SEE (approx.: € 95, -)
Page 27 of 32 Examples of color Duplex Laser Printers: (Information from Amazon.de) a) OKI C301 dn ( approx. € 140, -) b) Brother HL-3152CDW ( approx.. € 200, -) c) Kyocera Ecosys P6021cdn ( approx.. € 200, -)
4) Multifunctional scanner and duplex printer A multifunctional duplex scanner and printer could be used in case space is limited. The multifunctional duplex scanner and printer can scan a sheaf of documents as well as print documents on both sides. It can also be used as a stand only copier. In many cases such equipment can also be used to fax information. Examples of color Multifunctional Duplex scanner/Laser Printers: a) HP Officejet Pro X576dw MFP ( approx. $ 400, -) b) OKI MC362w ( approx. $ 405, - at WalMart )
5) External Disk for data backup It is recommended that the computer be regularly backed up to an external disk. The disk size should be at least 1TB. The connection to the computer should be via USB-2 at the least. USB-3 would be faster and thus better.
6) Document Scanner A documents scanner is recommended for lodges which archive many member records. Examples of document scanners are: a) Fujitsu ScapScan iX500 (approx. € 400, -) b) NeatConnect Desktop Scanner ( approx. € 475, -) c) Plustek SmartOffice PS286 Plus ( approx. € 340, -)
Recommendation for Software
It must be kept in mind that all Software must be regularly updated in order to prevent computer hacking.
1) Office Software The Lodge requires Office Software for day to day work. A single MS Office license 2013 costs approximately € 100, -. Software packages which have the same functions are available as cost free Open Source Software. A list of the three best known Open Source cost free Software packages are compared with Microsoft Office 2013 in the following function table: ( The table is taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_office_suites )
Page 28 of 32 Raster Vector Database Project Word Presentation Notetaking Diagramming Image Formula Desktop publishing Spreadsheet graphics graphics management management processor program software software viewer editor software editor editor system software
Apache OpenOffice Writer Calc Impress No Draw No Draw No Math Base No No Calligra Calligra Gwenview / Calligra Suite Calligra Stage Braindump Calligra Flow Krita Karbon [2] KFormula Kexi Calligra Plan Calligra Words Words Sheets Digikam LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice No No No LibreOffice Base No LibreOffice Draw Writer Calc Impress Draw Draw Math Microsoft Publisher Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Access Microsoft Project Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Visio Equation (Standard, Microsoft Office No Visio Office Picture (Professional and (not part of MS Word Excel PowerPoint OneNote (Viewer) Editor Professional and (Viewer) Manager Professional Plus) Office 2013) Professional Plus)
Raster Word Presentation Notetaking Diagramming Vector graphics Database management Project management Desktop publishing Spreadsheet graphics Image viewer Formula editor processor program software software editor system software software editor It must be pointed out that that the Calligra Suite Word processor is not quite stable and crashes quite often. Apache Open Office development is not as rapid as that of LibreOffice. Most of the Open Source developers work in the area of Libre Office. LibreOffice also has the interface which resembles that of MS Office 2007 or 2010 or 2013 the most.
2) Backup Software A computer must be regularly backed up to an external disk in order to prevent data loss in case the computer disk crashes or gets corrupted through a virus. Regular Backups are like an insurance against data catastrophes. Windows 7 and upwards has backup software integrated in the Operating System. Third party Software such as ACRONIS true Image (approx. € 50, -) may be used. In the meantime Freeware Backup tools are also available. A few examples are: a) COMODO Backup https://www.comodo.com/home/backup-online- storage/comodo-backup.php b) Cobian Backup http://www.cobiansoft.com/cobianbackup.htm c) AOMEI Backupper http://www.backup-utility.com
3) E-Mail Software Emails should be managed and saved on the Lodge computer. If Microsoft Outlook is not used, Software such as Mozilla’s Thunderbird is recommended for organizing emails, contacts and events. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/all.html
4) PC Protection Software In the current IT world it is unthinkable that a computer be operated without protection software against viruses or hackers. Protection software against viruses and hackers has to be constantly updated so that adequate protection can be realized. There are a large number of commercial Protection Software Packages available for PCs which are very effective. Some of them are: 1) Bitdefender Internet Security ( approx.. € 60, -) 2) Kaspersky Lab Pure 3.0 Total Security ( approx.. € 32, -) 3) Avira Antivirus Pro 2015 ( approx… € 17, -) On the other hand there are a large number of effective free security packages which offer excellent protection against viruses and hackers. They may not have all the functions of the commercial software but work quite effectively. Some of them are: Page 29 of 32 a) Comodo Internet Security https://www.comodo.com/home/internet- security/antivirus.php b) Avira Free Antivirus http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus c) Microsoft Security Essentials http://www.microsoft.com/en- us/download/details.aspx?id=5201
Tips for PC Maintenance
1) Keep Windows Updated with the Latest Patches Since Windows 98, Microsoft has provided access to Windows Update. Windows Update scans your system and updates it with the latest security patches and service packs. These are broken down into Critical and Recommended updates. A new version of Windows Update, Microsoft Update, is also available. In addition to Windows, Microsoft Update will also patch a wide variety of Microsoft applications, such as Office and Windows Defender. Best of all, you can schedule these updates to run automatically, so there is really no excuse for not having a patched system. To access Windows Update click on the Start button, All Programs and scroll through the list to find it.
2) Keep Your Spyware and AntiVirus Programs Updated No matter how good your spyware and antivirus software is, if it’s not updated or, worse, not running at all, then it won’t do you any good. Most antivirus applications load an icon in the Windows tray, which lets you verify its status at a glance. Always verify that the application is running after starting Windows. In addition, these applications should be configured to perform definition updates everyday and complete system scans should take place at least once a week.
3) Keep Your Applications and Utilities Patched All applications and utilities on your system are prone to security risks and need to be updated regularly. Programs that you use every day like Adobe Acrobat Reader, QuickTime, WinZip and more require both maintenance and security updates from time to time. Even applications that run in the background like Flash and Java are at risk. Trying to keep track of each of these individually can be a bit difficult, but a utility called Secunia PSI makes the job much easier. This free utility tracks a massive number of security exploits in applications and will automatically monitor your PC for susceptible apps. When it finds one, it directs you to a site where you can download and install the needed patches. This program is an invaluable resource for keeping your PC secured.
Page 30 of 32 4) Remove Unused Applications and Other Junk Your PC has a lot of non-essential data stored on it, much of which you might not even be aware of. For instance, Internet Explorer stores copies of the Web pages you visit, images and media for faster viewing later. Plus there are temporary files, your Internet history, cookies, and more scattered throughout your system. When your machine was brand new it came pre-loaded with numerous pieces of trial software. This could be games, security suites, even applications like Microsoft Office. Many people never install these. Others have, but decided not to purchase them at the end of the trial. Yet they remain on the system, wasting space and bloating the Windows Registry. Over time, this can lead to performance problems, causing Windows to become sluggish and unreliable. One of the easiest ways to combat this is to use CCleaner, a freeware utility for system optimization, privacy, and cleaning. This tool removes unused files from a hard drive and cleans up online history. But more important, it includes an outstanding registry cleaner. It even has an uninstaller to assists you in removing applications from your system.
5) Pay Attention to the Software You Install Many applications, especially freeware, often attempt to install additional software on your system. Some applications also try to install stuff which is not wanted, like an additional toolbar in IE. In almost all cases you’ll be asked whether or not you want this extra software installed. The trick is that YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION DURING THE INSTALLATION and actually read those screens that popup with the words on them and NOT just mindlessly click the “Next” button until the process finishes. If you follow this tip the amount of junk installed on your system will decrease. Should you find something installed without your authorization, uninstall it immediately. If it won’t uninstall, use Window’s System Restore feature to revert back to an earlier configuration. This brings us to our next tip…
6) Create a System Restore Point Before you install any new software on your system, always create a System Restore point. Some software can play havoc to your system causing all sorts of strange problems. System Restore helps you restore your computer's system files to an earlier point in time when your system was working well. It's a safe way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e-mail, documents or photos. Having a restore point can significantly reduce your downtime. Plus this functionality is built right into Windows so there is really no reason not to do it. To create a system restore point go to Control Panel and select Backup and Restore. Windows 7 users click “Recover system settings or your computer”. After you have created a restore point, you can access and use it easily through CCleaner.
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7) Defragment and Check Your Hard Drive for Errors Regularly In order to help maintain the integrity of your data there are two hard drive tests that you should run at least once a month. The first is to Defragment your hard drive. Over the course of regular use, your files get fragmented or spread out all over your hard drive. So while an MP3 or WMV file appears as a single file to you in Windows Explorer, small pieces of the file could literally be spread across the entire hard drive. Gathering all of these distant pieces back together into a single contiguous file makes file access faster. Depending on how fragmented the data on your drive is, defragmenting it could make your system noticeably faster. The other test we are going to perform is a Check Disk. This tool checks hard disk volumes for problems and attempts to repair any that it finds. For example, it can repair problems related to bad sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files and directory errors. Disk errors are a common source of difficult-to-track problems, and running this test regularly can significantly reduce your risk of problems. Windows has a built-in defragmenter and check-disk utility. To access either of them just open Windows Explorer and right-click on the drive you want to examine. Select Properties and then click on the Tools tab. To defragment your Hard Disk go to the Defragmentation section and press the Defragment now button. To perform a check disk, go to the Error-checking section and press the Check now button. Certain free third-party defragmentation utilities have some significant advantages to the one built into Windows. For instance, both Ultra Defrag and Smart Defrag perform the job much quicker than the built-in version. You can schedule them to run automatically and transparently in the background while you work. Please note that if you have a SSD (Solid State Disk ) instead of a normal rotating Disk, do not defragment the Disk. You will only harm and eventually destroy the SSD.
You don’t need to be a computer expert to keep your computer running well. Resolving these issues doesn’t have anything to do with understanding computers. It has to do with paying attention to what you’re doing and actually reading those messages that popup on screen during an installation. Just follow these basic steps and your computer will be safer and far more reliable.
(Tips for PC Maintenance are adapted from an internet article by Ronald Pacchiano: http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/3864116/7-Basic- Windows-PC-Maintenance-Tips.htm )
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